Tagged: Hall of Fame

When it comes to hitting, Ted Williams has long been remembered as the "Scientist" or the "Splendid Splinter" of baseball. Here is a photo from the Baseball Hall of Fame of Ted Williams’ hitting chart. He broke up the strike zone into 77 parts (signified by colored baseballs) and assigned a number for what his batting average should beif pitches were thrown in those areas. Notice that there are only three areas where he thinks he should hit .400—talk about a picky hitter! In 1941 Williams became the last major leaguer to hit over .400 for an entire season (.406). Williams’ uncanny patience also led to 2021 career walks and a lifetime .482 on base percentage.

Bruce Sutter is the only player on this year’s hall of fame ballot who deserves to be inducted into the hallowed shrine. Rich "Goose" Gossage, the other closer who has a shot was a great reliever, but does not deserve induction.

Sutter saved only ten (300 Saves) fewer games than Gossage (310 Saves) in ten fewer seasons. He was the dominant National League Fireman between 1977-1984. Gossage was arguably the best in his league for only two seasons. Sutter was also only the second man in baseball history to save 40 or more games in a season (45 Saves in 1984). But, one of his greatest achievements was his invention of the revolutionary split-fingered fastball.